Begging Dog is the indie punk project of Los Angeles-based artist Jeff Kleinman. An outlet for his work outside of the band Choir Boy, Begging Dog finds Kleinman embracing the mundane with a raw, homespun sound that nods to garage punk and the plain language lyricism of Bruce Springsteen. 26 minutes packed with rolling bass and synth lines, charismatic riffs, and motorik drum beats, DEMO 1 is strikingly tight for being exactly as titled, the first Begging Dog demos, self-recorded, self-produced, and self-released — that is until DAIS Records heard it and offered to give the original album a wider vinyl release.

What struck the label is Kleinman’s craftsmanship within natural parameters, his ability to tell relatable stories in these songs without pretense, and to realize dynamic material (which translates to a seven-piece live band) without much more than himself. "No one loves a begging dog," he sings on the title track, a line borrowed from a friend that embodies the project’s point of view: the world can make you feel like a begging dog in search of affection and security, but there is beauty in solitude and the buzzing monotony of it all. A shared loneliness, both universal and perhaps especially unique to living in Los Angeles, that Kleinman taps into with no-frills nuance and vulnerability.

Kleinman came up playing in punk bands, and over the last two decades, he has found his place in the DIY community, having called various locations home, notably Columbus, Ohio, and Salt Lake City, where Choir Boy formed, followed by New Haven, Connecticut, before his move to LA. The songs on DEMO 1 feature a range of lived-in observations, scenes, and characters. Among many are a pushy union rep and a mailman with a steady federal job ("Begging Dog"), a compulsive gambler ("Money Tree"), a beloved homeless man in his neighborhood ("Laughing Boy"), and the absence of ex-loves haunting several tracks, all collaged together out of context with blunt, sharp-witted free verse. He cites Springsteen as an inspiration in how his songs are penned with plain ink, opting for direct simplicity over flowery prose.

Kleinman's instinct was to record this batch quickly, as he always does, just to have something to support some out-of-town shows he'd booked. Tracking straight into his computer, he sent the stems to Matt Whitehurst (aka Matt Horseshit) of the legendary Columbus "shitgaze" band Psychedelic Horseshit, who "mixed it on tape and then mastered it on another tape to kind of make it sound shittier, but also better," says Kleinman. "He did an amazing job." The project went up on Bandcamp at the end of July 2025, and within a few days, Kleinman and DAIS were talking.

The fast, uncomplicated backstory is fitting for music that prioritizes a punchiness wrapped in pain, yet spirited, scrappy, and free. Kleinman is less concerned with genre conventions but is amused that others detect a curious cross-section: "Since I've been playing shows with these songs, people are like, dude, you're an Oi! Band, an indie rock Oi! band. I’m like, okay, cool, that makes sense." Questioning happiness, economic constructs, and societal norms, his style shares some commonalities with the punk sub-movement's disaffection.

"Loneliness always keeps the best company," he sings on the synth-laced "Laughing Boy", walking through his neighborhood contemplating the meaning of life, decrying high rent, and noting the scent of jasmine trees in the same breath as the jarring police presence. Later on "Common Place", surrounded by urgent drum machine kicks and distortion, he feels truly alive at a Seven Eleven downtown, then darts between a tragedy he witnessed at a park and more fond memories of living communally in Salt Lake City, before declaring his new mantra: "It’s over." The contrasts here are what make these songs human.

"No matter how good or not good you have it, you're kind of like looking for something more," says Kleinman, stopping short of trying to find some larger meaning in his work. "When I'm writing about these things, I don't try to make them more important than what they are." DEMO 1 benefits from this straightforward, everyman humility, crossing candor with grit and hooks.